


Unauthorized Field Trip

by duskblue



Series: Irondad Bingo 2019 [15]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Coparenting, Fluff, Gen, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark Coparenting Peter Parker, Microscopic Angst, Mostly Fluff, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, this is not a real field trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:54:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24153151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duskblue/pseuds/duskblue
Summary: Peter and Ned can’t find anyone to take them to a comic convention in DC, and Peter refuses to ask Mr Stark, so the boys decide to go on the trip by themselves and not tell anyone. Can they get to DC and back without May or Tony finding out? Or is this trip doomed to fail?Iron dad bingo prompt: Coparenting
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Irondad Bingo 2019 [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1326146
Comments: 19
Kudos: 280
Collections: Iron Dad Bingo





	Unauthorized Field Trip

**Author's Note:**

> Helloooo! I've had the worst writer's block. So I'm sorry for not posting in forever. I hope everyone is doing well with with all the changes in the world. It sort of sapped up my creativity... but I'm working on it! 
> 
> Thank you to jwriter819 who helped me a lot with the story for this one! I really appreciate your encouragement! <3

**Ned: Did you ask???**

**Peter: Yeah. She said no. She’s working that weekend. And money is kind of an issue…**

**Ned: DUDE. You literally have a credit card from Tony Stark in your wallet. Plus we already bought our tickets. What are we going to do??? We HAVE to get there**

**Peter: Maybe we can sell the tickets?**

**Ned: OR you can ask Mr Stark to take us!! Maybe he’s not busy!**

**Peter: He’s definitely busy. He’s busy all the time**

**Ned: Yeah, except when you’re around. He always has time for you. Just ask him! I have a feeling he’ll say yes. Man it would be so awesome to go to the DC Comic Con with Tony Stark**

**Peter: I can’t ask him. There is no way he wants to spend the weekend with us geeking out about Star Wars. Besides he’s done a lot for me and I don’t want to take advantage of him. I think we’re going to have to sell the tickets**

**Ned: Or…… what if we got a room using your credit card? It can’t be that expensive. It’s only two nights. The last time I saw Mr Stark he was telling you to use that card. Well???**

**Peter: He was telling me to use the card for food and other things I need. He doesn’t think I eat enough at school**

**Ned: So…. we’ll use it to buy food at the convention. Everyone’s happy**

~*~

Not everyone is happy. By the time convention day rolls around, Peter is exhausted because he hasn’t slept in three days. Lying is really hard, and it was hard to keep it a secret from May and Mr Stark for several weeks. This weekend is supposed to be a weekend spent at the compound and explaining to Mr Stark that he has a school project to work on with Ned instead wasn’t easy for him. Mr Stark had seemed pretty bummed, and Peter had wanted to come clean, but held his tongue anyway. 

“You look awful,” Ned says to them when they meet at the bus station. “You’ve got these big dark circles under your eyes.” He gestures to his own eyes.

“Thanks, Ned,” Peter says, his tone flat. “May was asking me about a hundred questions as to why I was leaving for the compound so early. If she calls Happy or Mr Stark to ask them about it, I’m dead. _We’re_ dead. I really don’t think we thought this all the way through.”

Ned puts his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Relax. She’s not going to call them. You said yourself that she rarely calls them unless you’re past curfew or hurt or something. Nothing bad is going to happen this weekend, so she won’t call. You need to chill. Maybe sleep on the bus.”

Peter takes in a breath and nods. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. I just need to sleep. I’ll feel better then.”

“There it is!” Ned points to their bus that’s pulled up alongside the curb. “Let’s go!”

Both boys have packed pretty light considering their cover stories about staying at the compound for the weekend where Mr Stark usually has all their needs completely covered, so they only have a backpack each. It helps that it’s summer and they don’t need to pack too many extra things. They easily get settled in their seats in the back of the bus. Ned is bouncing while Peter leans his head back and closes his eyes. He’s so tired, but he’s not sure sleep will come. 

“Look,” Ned says once the other passengers have filed in and the bus begins to move. “Why don’t you put your earbuds in and listen to some music? I’m your guy in the chair. It’ll be my responsibility to wake you up when we get to the first rest stop. Promise.”

Peter sighs. “Fine. I’ll try to rest. It’s just that this whole thing is making me stressed out. When we planned it, it sounded like we could pull it off, but now I’m starting to realize there are so many things we haven’t quite thought through. If we get stuck somewhere, or if I have to call Mr Stark for help… he’s going to be so mad. I just don’t want to let him down. And then May is gonna ground me for a year or something, and I’ll never get to _go out_ again.”

“Shh. Shh!” Ned hushes, holding up his hands. “You’re totally overreacting. We only had to use Mr Stark’s credit card for the hotel. We’ve been careful. All that’s gonna happen this weekend is we’re gonna have an amazing time at the convention. Stop worrying so much about Mr Stark finding out. He won’t find out.”

“You do realize you’re talking about Tony Stark, right?” Peter says while he digs his earbuds out of the little pocket in the front of his backpack. “He has technology we probably can’t even imagine. And if he has any inclination that I skipped town without telling him or May, I’m really not sure what he’ll do. Probably something embarrassing.”

“Probably something awesome,” Ned says.

“Not helping.” Peter shoves his earbuds in his ears and turns his music on. If he wants to have any fun at the con when they arrive, he needs to get some sleep. “Goodnight,” he mumbles and hopes Ned hears him.

~*~

Peter sleepily gets off the bus and grabs some food at a rest stop along the way, but once back on the bus, he falls right back asleep. The next time he opens his eyes, the bus is stopping and starting on the busy streets of Washington DC. He rubs his eyes and looks over at Ned who’s watching a show on his phone. He gives him a nudge.

“Oh, dude, you’re awake,” Ned says, taking his earbuds out and stuffing them into a pocket on his backpack. “You must have been really tired. I saw all sorts of things on the road. There was this crazy crash a few hours ago. The cars were completely scorched. I hope everyone got out. Then just before we got into the city, there were like twenty police cars surrounding a little store. I purposely didn’t wake you up for that one. Sorry.”

Peter yawns. “Probably for the best. I left my suit at home anyway.”

“You did?” Ned looks at him with wide eyes. 

“Yeah, are you forgetting the tracker? If we took that out again, I’d really disappoint him. And I don’t want to do that. Which is why we need to be extra careful this weekend. Got it?”

“I got it, don’t worry.” Ned pats his shoulder. “And of course I didn’t forget about the tracker. I had nightmares for a month about Mr Stark coming after me over it. I’ve just been so excited about the con, that I haven’t been thinking straight.”

“It’s okay. This is gonna work out.” Peter is staring at the back of the seat in front of him rather than looking at Ned. “Everything’s going to be just fine, and we’re going to have fun. And then we’ll be home again, and no one will know that we were here.”

“Stop worrying so much,” Ned says just as the bus turns the corner and they shift a little to the left. “Take a few deep breaths or something.”

Peter is in the middle of taking those few deep breaths when the bus stops, and he opens his eyes. The bus has pulled up to the hotel, and they’ve finally arrived. Sure, he feels more rested, but his nerves are also shot. 

Ned is practically shaking with excitement. “We’re here!”

Both boys pack up their stuff and exit the bus. Most everyone is waiting to get their luggage from below the bus, but since Peter and Ned only have backpacks, they pass the line and head towards the hotel. Peter looks up, his neck craning back till he catches sight of the top. The hotel is huge, but it’s not like he hasn’t seen anything like this in New York. He makes a mental note to stay awake for the trip back so he can see things other than big cities. 

Once they get into the lobby of the hotel, it’s completely crawling with cosplayers and fans. Peter and Ned fit right in with their Star Wars t-shirts while they wait in line to check in.

“I’ve never actually checked into a hotel before,” Peter says while he digs through his bag for his wallet. He has Mr Stark’s credit card and his driver’s permit. He hopes that’s enough. “That one time I went to Germany, Happy seemed to have it all taken care of. And then when we’ve been on school trips, that’s always taken care of for us, too. I wish I had been paying more attention.”

“It can’t be that complicated,” Ned assures him. “I mean, we just say our names, they make sure you have your card, and then they give us our keys.”

Peter is too busy looking down at his credit card to reply. The name printed on the card is not Peter Parker. It’s Tony Stark. He knew that already. He had to enter Mr Stark’s name into their hotel reservation after all. Back then, he hadn’t thought about checking in, but it might actually be a problem.

Ned gives Peter a little push when it’s their turn, and they both make their way up to a man at the check in desk. 

“Do you have your reservation information?” the man asks.

Peter frantically reaches into his pocket for his phone and brings up the email with the confirmation. He sets it down on the counter for the clerk and then holds his breath. 

The man spends a few seconds studying the email, and then he looks up at Peter. “Can I see your ID and the card you used to hold the reservation?”

He has those ready, so he sets them down on the counter.

The man looks at them and then holds them back up to Peter. “Can you see the problem here? Your credit card says Tony Stark, and your ID says Peter Parker.” He taps the credit card on the counter as if testing its authenticity. “Is there a reason why you have Tony Stark’s credit card and he’s nowhere to be seen? Or is this a fake?”

“Tony Stark is Peter’s dad.” 

Peter almost chokes on his own spit as he turns to look at Ned. He wants to ask his best friend if he’s crazy, but he can’t get any words out, and that’s a first. 

“Yeah, okay,” the clerk says, clearly not believing a word. “I think I’m going to call security to sort this out.”

“No, wait!” Ned says, leaning onto the counter a little. “Just hear us out, sir. Mr Stark is busy tonight so he sent us ahead of him to have fun at the convention. He’ll be here tomorrow.”

The clerk purses his lips. “Uh huh. And I’m just supposed to believe that this kid—” He gestures to Peter. “—is Tony Stark’s secret son? As far as I know, he doesn’t have a kid.”

Ned glances at Peter, who is still standing there, frozen. “Show him, Peter.”

Peter blinks until the shock of it wears off a little and then reaches for his phone. He scrolls through the photos until he finds a photo of himself and Mr Stark eating ice cream from two weekends ago. In the photo, Peter is holding a giant waffle cone filled with three different flavors of ice cream, and Mr Stark has a small cone with two scoops on top. He’s wearing his signature glasses while he grins and holds Peter in a loose headlock. 

The clerk looks a little surprised, but he takes Peter’s phone and zooms in as if looking for evidence of it being photoshopped. “Okay, so this looks legit,” he says slowly.

“See?” Ned says. “Do you really think Mr Stark would give some kid a credit card for no reason?” 

“Probably not,” the clerk admits, glancing up at them both and then handing Peter back his phone. “Okay, as long as the card runs through, I think I’m going to have to believe what you say. If you can have Mr Stark stop at the desk or call down once he arrives to confirm his stay, then we won’t ask anymore questions.”

“Yes, sir,” Ned says.

The clerk gives them both a suspicious eye, but runs the card through and then hands them their room keys in a little pocket with the wifi password written at the top. “Let us know if you need anything, and don’t forget to have Mr Stark check in with us.”

“Thank you, sir,” Peter says, passing the keys to Ned while he pockets his cards and phone. They quickly move away from the desk and towards the elevators that will take them up the rooms. “Holy shit, Ned,” he whispers when the elevator doors close on them. “You completely jinxed us!”

“What do you mean?” Ned asks, looking half offended. “I saved our asses back there. That guy was about to call security, and you weren’t saying anything! Security probably would have called Mr Stark, and we would have been busted. Or worse, they might have called the police, and then you’d have to tell your aunt about it.”

Peter shudders. “This whole thing was a mistake. Maybe we should just go home and pretend this never happened.”

“Stop it, Peter,” Ned says. “It’s too late now. We might as well just stay.”

The elevator car stops, and the doors open on their floor. Ned pushes him out and steers them into the direction of their room. It doesn’t escape Peter’s notice that their room is on the top floor of the hotel. They find their room number a few steps down the hallway, and Ned holds the key up to the sensor. Once it clicks open, he pushes the door open, and they walk inside.

“Whoa,” Ned says and freezes once he steps over the threshold. “I thought we reserved a standard room.”

“We did.” Peter pushes him out of the way and looks around. It is not a standard room. It looks like the kind of suite he stayed in when Happy brought him to Germany, only bigger and more extravagant. He fumbles for his phone to check the receipt for the reservation. It clearly says that he reserved a standard room with two full sized beds. The price is what he remembers agreeing to as well. “You don’t think…”

“They upgraded us because of Mr Stark’s name on the credit card?” Ned fills in. “I can’t think of any other reason why this would happen.”

Peter tosses his backpack on a couch and explores a little. He finds the beds around the corner. They’re two king sized beds in two separate areas, each with their own bathroom. The entire place is bigger than the apartment he shares with May. It’s positively huge.

“This place is amazing!” Ned says, echoing Peter’s thoughts. “Which bed do you want?”

“Um,” Peter hesitates. It probably doesn’t really matter. Both suites are mostly identical. “I guess I’ll take the one closest to the door just in case.”

Ned puts his hand over his heart and tries his best to give a sincere expression. “That touches me deeply, Peter.”

“Shut up, and let’s go grab some food. I’m starving.” 

~*~

Tony yawns and leans onto the counter in front of the coffee machine. It’s Saturday morning, and he’s too bored to continue sleeping. Peter is supposed to be here eating him out of house and home this weekend, but instead, Tony’s by himself and bored out of his mind. Not only is Peter not there, but both Pepper and Rhodey are out of town. Tony doesn’t drink anymore, but he’s definitely going to drown his sorrows in lots of coffee.

He’s watching it drip when his phone buzzes on the counter. He abandons his post at the coffee machine and lunges for it, desperate for human contact. Maybe it’s Peter needing some homework help, or maybe Pepper misses him. 

He blinks at the screen when he sees it’s May Parker calling.

“Huh,” he says, a little stunned, but picks up the phone anyway. “Hello, May. Everything alright?”

“Hey, Tony,” she says, her voice sounding perfectly calm, which is definitely a good thing in Tony’s world. “Just calling to check on Peter. He was pretty bummed about not being able to go to that convention.”

Tony feels a little sleepy still, but he knows what he’s hearing isn’t quite right. “What convention?”

“Some comic convention in DC. He didn’t tell you about it?”

“Ah, no.” Tony rubs at his eyes. “Wait, did you say you were calling to check on him?”

“Yes. How is he doing?”

“Well, shouldn’t you know? He told me he was staying home this weekend to work on some project with Ted.”

There’s a long pause on the other end, and Tony feels his blood pressure rising. 

“He’s not with you?” May finally says, sounding panicked. 

“No! He’s not there either?”

“I’m calling Ned’s mother,” she says. “I have a bad feeling about this. Can you do that thing where you track him? I think he and Ned might have gone to DC. I’m gonna kill them. He’s going to be grounded until he’s eighteen.”

Chances are, Peter and his friend went to the convention, like May says, but what Tony doesn’t understand is why Peter never even asked him to take them there. Tony had set aside this time for Peter anyway, it would have been fun to spoil him in DC for the weekend. “Don’t worry,” he tells May. “I’ll find him and bring him home. And then you can ground him forever. Tell Ted’s mom I’ll make sure he gets back safely, too.”

~*~

Peter and Ned spend the morning going to panels and wandering around the merch room. After what happened at the desk the day before, there is no way Peter is going to hand anyone else his credit card with Mr Stark’s name on it if he doesn’t have to, so he just buys a few small things like a smaller sized poster and a keychain. 

“We need to find some lunch,” Ned says, his arms wrapped around a brand new Lego set. “I can’t exist on free con snacks.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Peter admits. “Let’s go drop our stuff off in the room and then decide what to do. I’m traumatized from using Mr Stark’s credit card at the desk yesterday, so we might have to stick to something pretty cheap.”

“They don’t even look at your card at Subway or McDonalds,” Ned says while they squeeze through the doors to exit the merch room. 

“That’s true, I guess,” Peter says, leading the way to the elevators.

“You need to relax,” Ned says, trying his best to keep up with him. “We’re here, and we should be having fun. You worrying all the time about Mr Stark figuring out we’re here is really ruining it.”

Once they’re in the crowded elevator, Peter turns to Ned. “I’m sorry if I’m ruining it, but if he finds out we’re not in Queens, I’m dead. I might as well just lock myself in my bedroom and never leave again.”

“Okay, I get it,” Ned says after the majority of the people get off on the third floor where some of the panels are located. He waits until the remainder of the people get out on other floors to go on. “We’re basically halfway there. If he was going to figure us out, don’t you think he would have done it by now? Have you texted him to check in on him?”

“No,” Peter says, grumbling a little while they walk out on their floor. “I’m afraid to. He can probably sense my lies.” When they get to their room, he digs in his pocket for his key and then freezes.

“What’s wrong?” Ned asks, peering over the giant Lego box.

“I have a weird feeling,” Peter says in a hushed voice.

Ned whispers, “Is it your Spidey-sense?”

“I don’t know. It feels different.” He hesitates with the key, not quite holding it close enough to the sensor to unlock the door. Something is off, but it’s not the usual someone-is-going-to-stab-you type of sense. “I’ve got a bad feeling.”

“What should we do?” Ned asks.

“Take my stuff and wait here.” Peter tosses his small bag of things on top of the Lego box. “I’m gonna check this out. Don’t come in until I tell you to.”

“Okay, yeah. Got it.” Ned backs up a little and moves against the wall. “Be careful.”

Peter doesn’t reply. He just takes a deep breath and holds the key up to the sensor. It beeps once, and the light turns green, so he pushes the door open so hard it hits the wall with a crash. The doorknob gets stuck in the wall with the force, but Peter isn’t paying attention. All he can focus on is Tony Stark sitting on the couch with his arms folded across his chest. And he looks pissed. 

“Oh, shit,” Peter says.

“Did you just knock a hole in the wall?” Mr Stark says, getting up from the couch to inspect the damage. He has to pull pretty hard on the door to dislodge it from the wall. When he pulls the door away from the wall, there is indeed a gaping hole there. “This is coming out of your allowance.” He turns to look at Peter. “As is this hotel room.”

“My allowance is twenty bucks a week. Plus birthday money,” is all he can think to say.

“Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you decided to take an unauthorized trip across the country.”

“I’m sorry, Mr Stark,” Peter says, feeling defeated. “I didn’t mean to take advantage. I know you gave me that card for food and other things I need. It’s just that Ned and I really wanted to—”

“Where is Ted, by the way?” Mr Stark moves past Peter and goes to shut the door. 

Ned slides in before the door can close. “Right here, Mr Stark. I was giving you and Peter a moment.”

Peter watches while Mr Stark steps aside so Ned can get by and then closes the door behind him. He feels about ready to die. If Mr Stark knows what they did, no doubt he told May. This whole thing was all a huge mistake. He thought he would miss going to the convention and regret it forever, but now that all of this has happened, he realizes it wasn’t worth it.

“So tell me,” Mr Stark says while Ned puts their things on a small table near the kitchenette. “Whose idea was this?”

Peter’s eyes meet Ned’s across the room. Ned was definitely the instigator, but there is no way Peter is going to throw his friend under the bus. “It was both of us,” he says, which is kind of true anyway. “We both wanted to go.”

“Hmm,” Mr Stark muses as if he’s not quite buying it. He points to the couch. “I need both of you to take a seat. I just want you to know, I don’t like giving lectures, but I promised your scary aunt I would, so…”

Peter and Ned scramble to the couch while Mr Stark sits on a chair opposite of them. 

“I know you two think you’re grown,” Mr Stark says, putting his hands on his knees and leaning forward. “But the truth of the matter is that you’re not. You’re sixteen, and not only are you still kids, but you have adults in your life who care about what happens to you. Which is why we have rules for you. Peter, for God’s sake, I let you swing all over the city. Against my better judgement, I might add. But you can’t get on a bus and leave the state without telling anyone. What if something had happened to you? Did you think about that?”

“Not really,” Peter mutters. “I can take care of myself.”

Mr Stark frowns. “Wrong answer. I need to know where you are so if something happens to you, I can help. Got it?”

“Yeah,” Peter admits reluctantly. He understands why May and Mr Stark want to watch out for him, he just wishes they would realize he’s able to do more things on his own. Then he wouldn’t have had to lie to them in the first place. 

“We’re not done talking about this,” Mr Stark says, “but I think that’s enough for now. Your aunt and I decided that you’re grounded until the end of the summer. That includes Spider-man.”

“What?” Peter is so upset, he stands up, wanting to protest more. “It’s barely July! That’s basically the whole summer! That’s not fair, Mr Stark!”

“Sit back down. What’s not fair is you getting on a bus and leaving town without telling me or your aunt. Did you stop to think we might worry? I know you’re a teenager and teenagers only think about themselves, but you cannot do that again. Got it?”

Peter plops back down on the couch and stares down at his shoes. He knew he would be grounded if they found out, but he never imagined it would be the whole summer. “Okay, fine. I’ll just have a really boring summer doing absolutely nothing.”

Mr Stark is quiet for a moment. He finally reaches around for his wallet and pulls out a few bills. “Ted, why don’t you go grab us some lunch.”

Ned hops up to grab the money. “What do you want, Mr Stark?”

“Doesn’t matter. I trust you. Just be sure to bring enough food for Peter’s appetite.” Mr Stark waits till Ned leaves and then gets up to sit beside Peter on the couch. 

Now that Ned is gone, Peter knows he’s going to get the full extent of Mr Stark’s disappointment, so he tries to mentally prepare for the onslaught. 

“To be honest,” Mr Stark starts, “my feelings are a little hurt.”

Peter turns to look at him. “What? Why?”

“Because.” Mr Stark takes in a deep breath. “You didn’t ask me to take you. I mean, I know I’m some old guy who probably wouldn’t be very cool at this comic thing, but you were supposed to come to the compound this weekend. Why would you think I wouldn’t take you?”

Peter looks back down at his feet. “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t think you’d want to.”

Mr Stark puts his hand on Peter’s back. “It wasn’t because I’m not cool?”

“Pretty sure everyone thinks you’re cool, Mr Stark.” Peter sniffs. “I just didn’t want to bother you.”

Mr Stark groans and hooks his arm around Peter’s neck, pulling him closer and rubbing at his hair. “You’re the worst, you know. How can I ever get it through this thick skull of yours that you’re not ever a bother to me?”

Peter can’t help but laugh. “Really?” he says. “Because I’m pretty sure it was a bother to come here and bust me.”

“Maybe a little,” Mr Stark admits. “But I’m more glad that you’re alright. And that you don’t think I’m too old or uncool for your comic stuff.” He pauses. “Right?”

“You’re old, but you’re not uncool,” Peter says.

Mr Stark ruffles up his hair even more. “Fine. I guess I’ll accept that.” 

“I’m gonna miss you while I’m stuck at home for the rest of the summer being grounded.”

“Nope.” Mr Stark lets him go. “May said you could still spend every other weekend at the compound. If you want, of course. And just so we’re clear, you’ll still be grounded while you’re there.”

Peter stares at him for a second. There are extra lines on his face and maybe a few more gray hairs. He feels bad for stressing Mr Stark out. “I’m sorry, Mr Stark. Did you say if I would have just asked you to take us, you would have?”

Mr Stark sits back and rolls his eyes. “Duh. And we definitely would have taken the quinjet instead of some disgusting bus.” He looks around. “This suite is pretty nice. Did you hit the limit of that card I gave you?”

Peter reaches for his phone and to pull up the reservation email to show him, but realizes the screen isn’t lighting up. “Oh whoops,” he says, turning it on quickly. “We were in a Q&A this morning, and I guess I forgot to turn it back on.”

“Yeah, whoops. I figured that when you weren’t answering any of our calls. Way to freak your aunt out, bud.” Mr Stark’s voice is calm, but Peter can tell that May wasn’t the only one freaked out.

“Anyway,” Peter says, swiping past the barrage of notifications on his phone and passing it to Mr Stark so he can see the reservation. “The room I requested was a regular room. But when we got here, they gave us this one. We thought maybe it was because your name is on the card.”

“Probably. SI has held conferences here before. It’s a nice hotel.”

“Do we have to go back today?” Peter takes his phone back and returns it to his pocket. “Can’t we stay for the rest of the convention?”

“Not really up to me.” Mr Stark folds his arms over his chest and leans back into the couch. “We’ll have to ask your aunt. And Ned’s parents. I’m sure they’re more than a little pissed off, too.”

Peter cringes. He would rather shoot himself in the foot than ask May to stay for the rest of the weekend. “Will you ask her?” he says, looking at Mr Stark with the most hopeful expression he can muster. “She might say yes if you ask her. Tell her I’m really sorry.”

Mr Stark pulls out his phone, glancing over at Peter suspiciously. He spends a few moments typing out a text. “We’ll see what she says now. She’s pretty mad.”

“I figured,” Peter says, sighing. “Are _you_ mad? Please don’t say you’re disappointed.”

Mr Stark tosses his phone to the cushion beside him. He turns to look at Peter for a moment before he opens his arms. “You’d rather I be mad than disappointed? Come here.”

Peter leans into him and lets himself be pulled into the hug. 

“Look, Pete,” Mr Stark says, his voice soft. “If I’m disappointed, it’s in your behavior, not in you. The reason your aunt and I are upset or mad or disappointed is because we love you, and we want the best for you. It does not mean that we’re giving up on you. Got it?”

“I’m sorry.” Peter buries his face in Mr Stark’s shoulder. “I should have just asked you.”

Mr Stark pats him on the back. “Next time assume that I want to spend time and money on my favorite kid. And maybe Ted, too. Okay?”

“Okay,” Peter agrees, his voice a little muffled in Mr Stark’s shirt. “You know his name is Ned though, right?”

Mr Stark chuckles. “I guess I gotta remember your friends' names if I'm your _dad_ , huh?” 

Peter pushes away from him, looking at him in pure horror. “ _What?_

Mr Stark is clearly trying his best to look stern, but the smile never leaves his eyes. “If you don’t want to be my son, why in the hell did you tell that to the front desk when you were checking in?”

Peter feels his face heat up, and he knows he’s completely red. He can’t believe Mr Stark knew about this this whole time and didn’t say anything until now. “Technically, Ned said it. They were gonna call security.”

“I see how it is,” Mr Stark says after a moment. “I’m just a name drop, huh?”

“No! No, Mr Stark, that’s not it at all!”

Mr Stark leans forward a little. “Then what is it?”

“Ned only said it because you’re basically—” 

“Basically…” Mr Stark makes a motion that he should keep going.

Peter huffs. He’s not getting out of this one. “Basically like my dad,” he finally mutters.

“Okay.” Mr Stark leans back, looking satisfied. “That works for me. Next time invite me to the party, and maybe they won’t threaten to call security on you.”

Mr Stark’s phone buzzes beside him on the couch cushion, saving Peter from his misery. Once Mr Stark grabs it and unlocks it, Peter leans over so he can see.

**May: If Peter and Ned are staying, then you’re staying with them. You are the softest man I have ever met. I give up.**

“Aww,” Peter says. “She called you soft!”

Mr Stark jerks the phone away from him so he can’t see. “You little snoop. What are you doing reading my text messages over my shoulder? These are private.” His tone is harsh, but a smile curling up on one side of his mouth betrays him.

Peter grins. “Sorry.”

“Uh huh, sure. You’re just as bad as Rhodey.” 

The door clicks open, and Ned arrives, holding several bags of sandwiches from Subway.

Mr Stark pockets his phone. “Geez, Ted, I said enough food to feed _Peter’s_ appetite, not everyone at the convention.”

“You gave me forty bucks, Mr Stark,” Ned says, setting the sandwiches on the table. “That buys four footlongs plus cookies.” 

“And you forgot the sodas.” Mr Stark sighs before reaching back for his wallet. “I’m going to go grab some at the vending machine down the hall. When I get back, I want all your stuff off my bed, Pete. You two are bunking tonight.” He leaves the room muttering, “Kids. I can’t even.”

When the door clicks shut, Ned turns to Peter, his eyes wide. “We’re staying? You got him to agree to stay with us?”

Peter makes his way to the table so he can find the sandwich he knows Ned ordered for him. “Yeah. You should have seen the text May sent him. She called him soft.”

“Ouch!” Ned says, laughing. “Peter, you should have just asked him to begin with. This whole thing would have been so much easier. You could have had fun without worrying about us getting caught. And we wouldn’t have had to stop the front desk from calling security yesterday.”

“Yeah, I know, Ned,” Peter says, finally finding his sandwich and unwrapping it. He’s about to take a big bite when the door pops open, and Mr Stark comes in carrying several bottles of soda. 

“Your dad got you a Sprite,” Mr Stark says, setting the bottles down on the table. “Neither of you are allowed any caffeine if I have to chaperone this unauthorized field trip.”

Peter hides behind his sandwich. “Just so you know, Ned,” he whispers to his friend. “He’s not gonna let me live that down.”

Ned tries his best to not burst out laughing. “Doesn’t bother me.”


End file.
